Shifting tractor hitch



P. A. CHAPA ET SHIFTING TRACTOR H1 Sept. 27. 1927.

TCH

Filed Nov. 27. 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 sept.' 1927. f 1,643,542

' P. A. CHAFA ET AL SHIFTING TRACTOR HITCH I' Filed Nov. 27. 1926 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Peten'te'aA Sept. 27, 1927.

UNtraD STATES HARLEY A. CHAFA AND QTTMAR R. GRUBER,

OF 331135331331". AZT-ERL IOWA.

Ysnrruimer rnncmonnrron.

- Application, sie@ November 27. 1.9.25.- strialelntlnlit.

llhis invention relatestoI new and useful stantially upon the line itlotl Figure l',

improvements in hitching devices, for facili'- t'ating the attachmentoi' plows andother agricultural implements to tractors.

AThe primary object'ofv the invention resides in the provision of aVhitch of this character wherein there is provided a sliding barto whichthe tongue of the plow o r agri;`

cultural' implement may be attached, means being` provided ior slidingsaid bar transversely ot the lon'gitu'dinalanfis of the tractor so thatthe plow o r implement may be moved to either side ot the tractor whenplowing' on a side hill. It is well known that when performing"suchanlagricultural operation the tractor andplow when not ad justably;connected is bound to slide downhill, and furthermore the plow is nottaking a'ifull'cut.` However, by reasonY or'c a hitch et this characterthisdisadvantage mayY be readily overcome by theV rapid hitching of theagricultural implement to either sideo'f the longitudinalaxes of theplow.

it -further and important object is to'provide a shifting' tractor hitchof this character wherein the'sliding agricultural implef ment tongueattachingibar maybe readily adjusted Yby the operator of thetractorwithout leaving the tractor, seat and wherein the proper adjustment willbe `maintained'by reason of aflocking means yprovided'fnt said slidingbar.v 'l i fr 'further and most important Objectis to provide a tractorhitch of-this character that may be readily associated with practicallyall types oie-tractors, and this withoutfre-A quiring greatVskill,jlabor, orv expenditure.

AOther objects will become apparent as the nature ot the inventionisbetter understood, the same comprising the` novel form, combil nation,and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, ,shown intheY accompanying drawings aiidclaimed. ln the drawings wherein likereference characters indicate corresponding Aparts throughout theseveral views:

Figure l isa top'plan view of the rear end of a conventional tractorequipped with our improved shifting' tractor hitch.

Figure 2 is a View in section through Ythe tractor for `disclosing thetractor hitch in side eleyation. l

Figure-is afront side view 'of the hitch per se.V

Figure 4l is an enlarged longitudinal -section through one end of thehitch taken subandV Figure 54 isa longitudinal; section takensubstantiallyupon the line 5-.5 of Figure 4;

New having particular reference to the` drawings, 5V indicates a wellknown type of tractor, the rear end .ot which isprovided with the usualgplate-like draw bar 6. The invention per se consists or a relativelyl U#shaped bar 7 bolted o r otherwise rigidly. secured at its centralportionto the top side of said4 draw bar as clearly disclosed in Figuresl and 2. The endy arms of said Uf shaped bar extend'longitudinallyrearwardly of the tractor, and are interconnected at their inner ends bya cross bar 8, the ends ofwhich are twistedi for flush engagement withthe under sides of the end arms of said Ueshaped bar 7', see Figures 3and 5. l

Secured to lthetop sides of the end arms of said U-shapedfbar 7byvreason of the'same connecting bolt between said bar 7 andthe armconnecting bar Bare plates 9-9, the outer ends of which are offsetupwardlyl so vas to have spaced relationl with the end arms otI thecrossfbar 7 as clearly indicated in Figure l. The .outerv ends oftheplates V9--9 are connected to the ends of the arms of' the bar 7 byboltand nutvconnections lO-10, while surrounding the bolts between theplates and arms ,arelooseV rollers lll--l'l spaced from the-bolts of theconnections by spacingfcollars 12; l

rod l5 that extends inwardly and is in turn pivo-tallysecured to avertical hand lever 16 that'eis pivoted--at its',y lower end'to thecenter ot the connecting bar 8 betweenthe end arms ,ofthe U-shap'ed bar7. Obviously? a Yswinging ofjthis lever in reverse directions will-causeythe sliding movementoi-the bar 13l in` a` similar directionl for movingthe point of attachment vbetween the plowvor other agriculturalimplement and the tractor to oppositesidesof the center ofy said "trac-Vtor. Y l

The boltand nut connections which are now designated by the referencecharacters 1lidably. disposed between the plates and 17-17 between thearms of the U-shaped bar 7, the plates 9-9 and cross bar 8 further serveas a connecting means for the rearwardly bent ends 18-18 of a toothedsegment 19 forwardly of the connecting bar 8 for the end arms of theU-shaped bar 7, it being apparent from a consideration of Figure 2 thatthe hand lever 16 is upon a slight incline for the reason that the lowerend thereof must pass beneath the segments 19 for facilitatingthe'pivotal attachment of the same to said cross bar 8.

Directly at the segment 19 said hand lever 16 is provided with avert-ical slot 2O through which passes the rearwardly bent end 21 of adetent bar 22 that is pivoted at its upper end to a bell crank lever 23that is normally swung downwardly by reason of a coil spring 24 so thatsaid bent end of the rod will engage within the teeth of the segment 19.Obviously, by swinging inwardly upon the bell crank lever 23 said detentis released from the teeth of the segment so as to permit the hand lever16 to be moved in reverse direction to cause the sliding of the tongueattached bar 13. By reason of the fact that the pull upon this bar 13 isalways in a direction away from the tractor, the easy sliding movementof this bar is made possible due to the presence of the rollers 11-11that are engaged by the front edge of said sliding bar. Y

In view of the foregoing specification when considered in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings it will at once be apparent that we haveprovided a highly novel, simple, and efficient shifting tractor hitchthat is well adapted for all rthe purposes heretofore designated, eventhough we have herein shown and described the invention as consistinglof certain detail structural elements it is nevertheless to beunderstood that some changes may be made therein without eecting thespirit and scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what we claim as new is 1. In atractor hitch, a member rigidly secured to the tractor draw bar, a crossbar slidably associated with the member, one end of said cross bar beingdisposed upwardly, a vertical lever pivotally supportedl adjacent itslower end on said rigid member, a link rod connecting the lower end ofsaid lever with saidupwardly disposed end of the slidable cross bar,whereby said cross Vbar to which an agricultural implement is connectedmay be shifted, with respect to the tractor in a transverse direction,when the upper end of the lever is actuated, and means for locking thelever in any predetermined shifted position.

2. In a tractor hitch, a member rigidly secured lto the tractor drawbar, a cross bar slidably associated with the member, one end of saidcross bar being disposed upwardly, a vertical lever pivotally supportedadjacent its lower end on said rigid member, a link rod connecting thelower end of said lever with said upwardly disposed 'end of the slidablecross bar, whereby said cross bar to which an agricultural implement iscon` nected may be shifted, with respect to the tractor in a transversedirection, whenthe upper end of the lever is actuated, means for lockingthe lever in any predetermined shifted position, said means comprising aball and ratchet mechanism associated with the lever and the stationarymember respectively. i

3. In a tractor hitch, a substantially U- shaped frame rigidly securedat its base portion to the tractor draw bar, a transverse connecting barbetween the arms of the U- shaped frame, a cross bar slidable betweenthe free ends of the arms of the frame and to which an agriculturalimplement isV t-o be connected, guide means for the slidable cross bar,one end of said slidable cross bar being disposed upwardly, a verticallever pivotally supported adjacent its lower end on the connectingmember, a link rod connecting the pivoting end of the lever to theupstanding end of the slidable cross bar, whereby said cross bar may beshifted transversely with respect to the tractor when the upper end ofthe lever is actuated.

4. In a tractor hitch of the class described, a substantially U-shapedmember rigidly se'- cured at the base portion thereof to the tractordraw bar, a transversely extending member secured at its ends to Vtheinner end portions of the arms of the U-shaped meniber, an elongatedcross bar adapted for slidable movement across the outer ends of thearms of the U-shaped member and to which said Across bar an agriculturalimplement is to be attached, guide rollers on the arms of the U-shapedmember for cooperation with the slidable cross bar, one end of theslidable cross bar being bent upwardly, a vertical lever pivoted at itslower end on said transverse connecting member, a link f rod connectingthe pivoted end of the lever to the upwardly disposed end ofthe slidablecross bar, whereby said Vcross bar may vbe shifted .transversely of thetractor when ,the upper end of the lever is actuated, and means forholding the lever in any predetermined shifted position. Y In testimonywhereof we aliix our signatures. j Y

PARLEY A. CHAFA. OTTMAR It. GRUBER.

